PORTLAND, Ore. – A goal by freshman forward Estera Levinte in the 89^th minute lifted the No. 7 Western Washington University women's soccer team to a 2-1 road victory over Concordia Thursday evening at Tuominen Yard.

 

Improving to 10-0-0 in Great Northwest Athletic Conference play, the Vikings reached 30 points in the standings to secure at least a share of the 2019 regular-season GNAC title. WWU improved to 14-2-0 overall with its 10^th consecutive victory. Concordia dropped to 5-9-1 overall and 3-5-1 in league play.

 

Either a win or a tie by the Vikings on Saturday on Senior Night vs. Northwest Nazarene, or a loss or a tie by Seattle Pacific in any of their final three matches secure the outright league title, which will be the eighth in program history and seventh in the last eight seasons.

 

"Tonight was a really good test for us and I think it made us a better team heading into the postseason," said WWU head coach Travis Connell. "Concordia had a good game plan against us and got the early goal which presented a new challenge for us. I thought we grew and got better throughout the match, and thought we responded well."

 

WWU recorded Thursday's victory in comeback fashion, battling from behind after giving up an early goal to the Cavaliers. Concordia struck in the third minute of the contest, when Kyra Radcliffe scored her seventh goal of the season at the 2:34 mark. Madison Grande slipped a through ball behind the WWU backline, where Radcliffe lofted a shot just below the crossbar for her the early goal.

 

The Cavaliers took the 1-0 lead into the half, but the Vikings found the equalizer in the 61^st minute on a penalty kick goal by junior midfielder Darby Doyle. Senior forward Liv Larson drew a foul in the box by Emily Boettcher, which led to the perfectly-placed PK by Doyle that tucked inside the right post.

 

The game remained tied until the 89^th minute when Levinte, the reigning GNAC Offensive Player of the Week, continued her last-season goal binge with the game-winner at the 88:03 mark. The freshman forward dribbled past four defenders and connected on a shot just outside the right side of the 6-yard box that was driven over the CU keeper at a sharp angle. It was Levinte's fifth goal of the season.

 

Junior goalkeeper Natalie Dierickx made three saves in goal for the Vikings.

 

WWU out-shot Concordia 14-9 with a 6-4 advantage in shots on goal.

 

#7 Western Washington 2, Concordia 1

Date: Oct. 31, 2019

Field: Tuominen Yard  Site: Portland, OR

Attendance: 100

 

Goals by Period            1  2    Tot

---------------------------------------

Western Washington.......  0  2  -  2

Concordia................  1  0  -  1

 

SCORING SUMMARY:

1.    2:34   CU     Radcliffe (Grande)

2.   60:27   WWU    Doyle (Penalty Kick)

3.   88:03   WWU    Levinte

 

Shots: WWU 14, CU 9

Shots on Goal: WWU 6, CU 4

Saves: WWU 3 (Dierickx – 3), CU 4 (Asato - 3)

Corners: WWU 2, CU 0

Fouls: CU 13, WWU 10

Kits: WWU – Light Blue; CU – Navy

 

Here is a look at the updated GNAC standings through games played on Thursday. WWU has reached 30 points in the table to clinch at least a share of the GNAC regular-season title, the eighth in program history.

 

 

Senior defender Annaliese Laurila, a Portland native, did not start or play in the match due to a foot injury, bringing her string of 83 consecutive starts to a close…dating back to the first game of her redshirt freshman season in 2016, Laurila started in every possible contest for the Vikings.

 

WWU improved to 9-3-1 all-time vs. Concordia, winning the only meeting between the two schools this season. The Vikings and Cavaliers played four times last season, including two in the postseason, with each team winning twice.

 

The Vikings (14-2-0, 10-0-0 GNAC) returns to Harrington Field for Senior Night on Saturday vs. Northwest Nazarene, with kickoff under the lights at 7 pm. The regular-season finale will be Thursday, November 7 at Seattle Pacific at Interbay Stadium.

 

The Vikings have secured one of the four spots in the 2019 GNAC Women's Soccer Championships that will be held Nov. 14-16 at Interbay Stadium in Seattle. WWU extended its streak of appearing in all eight of the GNAC Championships since the event debuted in 2012. The Vikings have advanced to the championship game every season of the tournament, winning the postseason league title four times (2012, 2015, 2016, 2017). Seattle Pacific (2) and Concordia (1) have claimed the three other GNAC Tournament titles. More information with soon-to-be-available ticket information is available atGNACSports.com.

 

WWU is now unbeaten over its last 21 regular-season GNAC games going back to last season, with a 20-0-1 mark during this stretch. The last loss in regular-season conference play was Sept. 15, 2018 at Concordia (1-0).

 

Including the 7-2-0 start to this season, WWU is 76-13-8 in games away from Bellingham over the last eight seasons (9-3-2 last season, 12-1-0 in 2018). The Vikings have played nine of their 16 games this season on the road, including two separate trips to Colorado and one to Los Angeles.

 

WWU has won 74 of its last 84 games dating back to the start of the 2016 national championship season, going 74-7-3 during this stretch. The program has won six of the last seven GNAC regular-season titles (clinched at least a share of 2019 title), three of the last four GNAC Tournaments and advanced to the NCAA Championships in each of the last seven seasons. During the seven-year stretch of consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, WWU has reached the West Regional Championship match six times and advanced to the NCAA II Final Four three times (2013, 2015, 2016). Western has a current streak of 15 consecutive winning seasons the 8th-longest active streak in NCAA II.

 

Fans can follow WWU women's soccer online at WWUVikings.com/WSoc, and via social media on Twitter (@WWU_WSoccer), Instagram (@wwu_wsoccer) and Facebook (@WWUsoccerwomens). All home matches feature a live webcast, as well as most road matches, with links on how to follow the games available at WWUVikings.com/Live.

 

The Western Washington University women's soccer program has risen to the top of the Division II ranks, with a string of seven consecutive appearances in the NCAA Championships. WWU has advanced to the NCAA II Final Four in three of the last six seasons and played for the West Region championship in six of the last seven seasons. The Vikings won the NCAA Division II National Championship in 2016 with an undefeated 24-0-1 record, beating three-time defending national champion Grand Valley State 3-2 in the title game in Kansas City, Missouri. Including the national championship run, the Vikings put together a 39-game winning streak (4th-longest in NCAA II history) and a 40-game unbeaten streak. The program has claimed six of the last seven Great Northwest Athletic Conference regular-season titles, going 89-5-5 (.924) in league play during this stretch, and has won three of the last four GNAC Championships titles (2015, 2016, 2017). Head coach Travis Connell enters his 17^th season leading the program in 2019, and has led the Vikings to nine trips to the NCAA Championships and 15 consecutive winning seasons.